Delhi Police to soon charge Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid in sedition case: Sources

The Delhi Police is in the process of finalising its charge sheet in the sedition case against former JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar and other activists, including Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, police sources said.

Kumar, Khalid and Bhattacharya were arrested in 2016 on charges of sedition for allegedly organising an event in Jawaharlal Nehru University campus against the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru. The arrests had triggered a huge controversy with the opposition slamming the police for "working at the behest of ruling BJP".

"The charge sheet is in the process of being finalised and is likely to be filed soon. The names of eight Kashmiri students also figures in the draft charge sheet," said a police officer, requesting anonymity.

The controversial programme sparked an outrage after allegations were made that anti-national slogans were raised.

The arrest of Kumar catapulted him to national fame and resulted in protests across the country.

After footage of the event was found to be authentic, some students were questioned by the Special Cell sleuths last year.

Sources close to Khalid said they came to know about the draft chargesheet through media reports and have learnt it might be finalised in the next week or so.

Left activist and students' leader Shehla Rashid said it is a "forgotten trump card" of BJP. She said, "When BJP kept playing the anti-national card (JNU, Ramjas), it kept winning state elections in Assam, UP, etc. Now, after facing defeat in state assembly polls, BJP pulls out the forgotten trump card for 2019 as it is #ZERO on farmer issues, economy, etc.